Dreaming Again
by Ambiguous Loon
Summary: There are many ways to deal with a problem: avoiding it and putting it off isn't one of them. JD/Perry.
1. Chapter 1

Subject: Scrubs, JD/Perry

Discllaimer: I do not own the Scrubs franshice. This is a fan-made sotry of no value or profit.

Summery: There are many ways for someone to deal with a new turn in their life. Avoiding it isn't one, and neither is putting it off. One way or another though, Dr. Cox will have to face the music brought on by dreams that he probably shouldn't be having anyways...right?

A/N: So, yeah, a fiction that isn't an update that I should be doing. But I have been going through some serious crap lately. Honesty, it's getting ridiculous._  
><em>And how best to release stress by writing a raunchy gay sex fiction? OH that's right, it's one of those. Don't like you can just piss off. To be fair nothing will really happen till next chapter- which I have already started. It's my goal: this story will be finished by the end of break and before the return of college which I've lovingly named Hell. Enjoy and R&R so I know _someone_ cares.

* * *

><p><em>Slap<em>

"Todd, what the hell?" JD squawked, spinning around to glare at 'The' Todd before spinning to glare at the giggling he heard from his supposed bestest friends, Elliot and Carla. "Girls, what the hell?"

"Sorry, JD," Carla offered. "Todd, say sorry." she nudged him forward.

"Sorry-five?"

JD accepted it -and the pain of a near shattered hand- and Todd went on his way. "OK, what is going on with him? He's...touchier than normal."

The girls burst out giggling again. He waited quietly until they gained control of themselves once more and then for Carla to answer as Elliot ran off to her rounds as soon as she could breath straight. "Sorry, he's just confused, being out and all must be really hard on him, you know?" Somehow 'bring out' Todd had become hopeful and amusing weekly ritual for the girls.

"Confused? Carla, that is the 17th time he's slapped my ass."

"Today?" They'd only gotten Todd to unstraightened himself that morning. It was currently 11 am.

"Yeah."

"...Oh..."

"Yeah."

"This conversation is just _so_ stimulating," a file was shoved into JD's face, "But Bethany, dear, you are needed in room 208. Now would be good. Now Bethy, now now now now...Good god, nothing gets done around here anymore." Perry watched as Dorian bolted for his new patients room, glancing every which-way till the door was firmly closed behind him. "What's got the girly on watch duty?"

"Oh, Todd's been hitting him- er, well, hitting on him...not so much hitting as grabbing and slapping his ass."

"Huh, well she probably deserves it. Moving on, you have the charts for Mr. Gainszer in room 212?"

She handed him the charts, "You should be nicer to her- I mean him. Damn it, you're making it spread."

"Awesome, I would say my work here is done but well, there's just so much more damage to be had. Not to say I'm the only one. Look at you, getting a resident to go so curvy that if he were to walk in a straight line he would actually manage to go in a complete 3 circle no matter how much he attempted to veer off of his very useless path."

"Your rants seem a bit off today."

"Meh, I'm tired. Following Sahara around here so she doesn't kill anyone on all of her shifts is not an easy task." Dr. Cox flipped through some new charts but found nothing interesting. Liver failure, three cases of mono, and the last looked like an overdose. Boring. All of them. He handed them back to Carla for assigning.

"You know," she said slowly, "He's an attending now, you don't need to be followin' him around so much. But you know this already, so either you have nothing to do- unlikely seeing this pile of charts right here- or you like following him around."

Dr. Cox balked. "Oh, oh oh oh oh _oh_ No. Three hundred times over: No." He snatched up an extra chart from her arms and went off, muttering obscenities all the way.

Carla was about to return to her own work when she heard a yelp and crash stream out of room 208. Looking over she could see the patient sitting stock-straight in the bed, arms reaching out, and JD on the floor nursing his nose. "Bambi?"

"Can you get Doug down here, room 208 is, uh...dead. And rigged. Oh jeeze, I think the patient's hand broke my nose..." he felt the offended area, "Yeah, feels broken. I'll be in the ER."

_Oh no he didn't_, Carla thought angrily as she watched her friend stumble out of the ICU, a fair amount of blood now rushing down his face. Dr. Cox was going to regret this last prank.

**†** **†** **†** **†**

"Ugh, I am so tired. I've been doing bottom jobs for the last 28 hours and paperwork before that! Don't we have interns for this stuff?" JD, nose now taped and tissue sticking out of his nostrils, tossed nine completed files on the counter. Night had deeply fallen around the hospital. Not that that changed much in the ICU; the florescent lights lit every nook and cranny and the various sounds of people and machines droned on as always. But, by most standards the day had been good, if not rather long. Only one person had died and they'd done so before he was even on scene so it could hardly be counted. Seven of the nine cases were looking good, the last two not so much but things could always change quickly in the ICU. It was best not to write them out yet.

"Poor Bambi, so lost without his interns. Interns not taking you seriously again? Is it Dr. Cox again?"

"Not this time," JD sighed and jumped to sit on the nurse's station. "None of them can take a 'hand-warmer' seriously."

"Hand-warmer?"

"Yeah, Todd won't stop hitting my ass and now Estivon from the Cafeteria _and_ Brandon in filing have joined him. I'm considering attaching a trash lid to my pants as protec- Ha, I'm on a counter you can't get me!"

Brandon rolled his gray eyes, putting a pile of files on the stations in-box. "Can't sit forever," he muttered.

_I'll pretend that didn't happen,_ said JD's mind. "My covering-shifts are over anyways, if I'm not needed here I'm out."

Carla smiled and gave him a friendly shove toward the exit, "get out while you still can, Bambi. And don't let-"

"Where does Janis think she's going? I hope its not home because surly you've noticed the four new and shiny patients waiting for your assessment Missy."

"Dr. Cox, I've been working for almost 48 hours, I actually started hallucinating a few hours ago- probably from blood loss now that I think of it-" he poked his nose curiously and winced when It still hurt, "I have been felt up by more guys in the last shift then I thought possible, and I'm pretty sure I'm getting sick. So, can I please go _home_?" JD did his best to stand his ground again Dr. Cox's glaring eyes. He didn't last long so he simply fell back on begging with his eyes. Whether it was indeed his begging or (more likely) Carla glaring at him from the side, Dr. Cox finally heaved a sigh, throwing his hands in the air, declaiming JD "unfit to practice and a blight on modern medicine."

JD couldn't be happier with it though, and was quickly collecting his bag form the lockers and racing toward the nearest hospital exit. He couldn't wait to fall into bed with a bag of Cheetos's or maybe some pudding and just relax.

Of course, life has a funny way of knowing just what you want, and promptly using that to bitch-slap you back into reality. The slap came in the form of Bob Kelso's face appearing two inches from his own.

"Dr. Dorian, where are you gong?"

_Oh wonderful..._ "I was escaping because the two double shifts I was covering for are over and I thought that maybe I could go-"

"Son, I did not ask for a life story. In fact, lets just skip any stories. Get you scrubs back on before I decide that the next 12 hours are _volunteer_ work." he ignored any protest to walking briskly down the hall, leaving JD to throw his bag back into the locker room. He'd need new scrubs for this shift, the old ones were unwearable. They smelled like, well, sort of like Ted smelled after being locked in a room with Neena. A distinguished mix of sweat, tears, and desperation. He was halfway through getting new scrubs from the dispenser when a sharp while echoed painfully through the locker room.

"Newbie, I am pretty damn certain that scrubs are _not_ in fact needed to go home."

"Yeah, Dr. Kelso roped me into another shift." JD pulled off his pants, replacing on the stiff blue scrub pants. The hospital was probably laughing at him right about now. "Sorry," he added after noticing the silence. Dr. Cox just growled and sped out of the room. _Whatever_. JD didn't have the presence of mind to direct his mentor's attitude today.

It was five hours later when JD finally got a break. Three more people had been admitted and while that wasn't an overload by any means of the term, they weren't easy people to deal with. It was like the three complete jackasses decided to land themselves in the ICU for old times sake or something. Dr. Cox hadn't been any help dealing with them, refusing to even talk to him. Five hours and all he got were growls and annoyed wave-offs. Maybe when Molly was back on shift she would help. At the moment though, JD was just glad to have a break and planned to use every minute of it napping.

**†** **†** **†** **†**

"Do ya think you could lay off for like, one hour? One? Really, that's all I ask." Perry could of dodged the punch to the arm that came his way, -he's certainly seen it coming- but Carla was the type to get you now matter when or where you dodged.

"Lay off, Dr. Cox? You want _me_ to lay off? I'm not the one pulling pranks- harmful pranks I might add- on people and then doing nothing but ignore them when they need help you big meanie."

"Big meanie? Really scrapping the bottom of the name barrel aren't ya?"

"Yeah, kinda..." she admitted almost sheepishly, "but that's not the point! You've been harassing Bambi for three years now!" She looked around quickly, checking for any gossip mongers, and lowered her voice so Dr. Cox had to lean in to hear. "I've been talking with Jordan, you know? I know about why she's at her mother's house again. Never took you for someone that talks during their sleep, let alone moan or groan or, what was it she said? Oh yeah, whisper out someone's name ever so sweetly. I'm actually more curious that she doesn't seem to mind. Do you really think that being an ass is going to help you at all? 'Cause it'll only get you alienated."

Perry massaged his temples, "Dear god, you're talking is almost as bad as Barbie's and I use ear plugs with her most times." He didn't bother to dodged that slap either. "Listen, he's not going to alienate me. Ever. It's a physical impossibility. If I disappeared for more than a week and he didn't get to see me during that time, I'm fairly certain he'd just stop existing all-together."

"Oh my god. It's like arguing with a three year-old." Carla said, giving up. At least she tried. "Fine, ignore me, after all, I never know how to deal with people and relationship issues. Nope, no experience at all. You go ahead and keep hissing and spitting at him, but if you pull any more pranks like you did this evening, I will hurt you. Got it?"

"Yes." Perry had no idea what she was spouting. Probably something the Janitor did though. He wasn't sure why the Janitor dislike Newbie so much, but it was still maybe sort of his fault seeing as how he'd had paid the guy five bucks to pull something. 'Something' was quite a generalized term though. It was hard to keep track of how people defined it. Especially when money was involved. It would explain that nose bandage Newbie was sporting though.

Speaking of which, it had been nearly an hour since he'd seen the resident dragging himself around. And, despite what Carla had been telling everyone, Perry _did_ notice that Newbie was tired and buckling under the strain of the hospital. He knew, in fact, that the kid had covered Barbie's shifts and then had somehow been roped into covering for some nameless intern. And now Bob had him pulling more hours. Perry had come, worked, gone home, and come back again and Newbie was still here, having not left once.

So, he wasn't at all surprised when he found him asleep in the on-call room, nor could he blame the kid. He was surprised though when an eye cracked open to take notice of him. "Hmm? Dr. Cox...?" the other eye opened tiredly. "Sorry, Dr. Cox, didn't mean to fall asleep for so long." JD murmured, "I'll just...ah, get back-"

"To sleep. You can't work when you're this tired. You're on your fourth- well technically fifth- shift in a row, Newbie. I'll take over your charts for a few hours." Perry left before there could be any response. JD was already asleep again anyways.

Carla could shove her advice, he knew what he was doing this time...maybe.

**†** **†** **†** **†**

It was kinda funny how you could lose track of time in a hospital. Well, kinda funny or kinda sad. Kinda funny is probably the better option though. Something that's kinda sad is just sad in the end. Either way, one had to rely on basic knowledge: there were 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night (give or take due to seasons but again, basic knowledge here). So you have a 1/12 chance of guessing the correct time of day or night. There were a few places where it was a 1/24 chance, like a supply closet or the morgue, which was defiantly trickery- not that those guys ever had to pull enough shifts or warrant a losing of time. Or, of course, if you're in the on-call room with no windows and no idea what time it was when you entered nor how long you were out for.

JD guessed 3am despite the odds.

Watches were always great for helping, but he's left it with his bag somewhere in the locker room. _Should probably check where I threw that..._

Instead he made his way to the nurses station -wincing from the harsh florescent lights- for his charts. He'd probably slept for a while and missed quite a bit, though there was something he wasn't really getting... "Hey, anyone see my charts?" Carla was nowhere to be seen and the one nurse on duty wasn't pay him any attention. There were no charts in the assignment box. "Of course not," JD whispered mostly to himself.

"Of course not what, Daisy?"

JD would have jumped right over the nurse's station if a heavy hand hadn't decided to clamp down on his shoulder. He still managed to squeak though.

"If you're looking for your charts, I'll have you remember me telling you I'd take them. Also, insert here some girl insult about that squeaking of yours. I am, unfortunately, to tired at the moment to bother."

"Insert insult, got it. Um, how long was I out? I could probably take my charts back now..."

Dr. Cox didn't look thrilled at the prospect. Actually, he just looked tired and not much else. "You were out for about 5 hours. You needed it. In fact, I would highly recommend going home and sleeping more, your s12 hours are almost up anyways. You won't be missing much, Newbie."

"No, Dr. Cox, I got five hours of sleep, I'm ready to go. I actually think my own shift starts soon anyways." JD checked the clock on the hall wall. It was almost 4am. His own shift was at 6am. "Yeah...no point. And...I- I know you think I'm incompetent and such, but your shift is over. Maybe you should get some sleep and, well, I can take it from here." Holding his hands out for the charts was risky, but Dr. Cox had already covered for him while he caught up on sleep of all things. He felt bad enough. That knowledge didn't stop him from expecting a hit or insult though.

"OK, fine."

When the charts hit his hands, JD winced, still expecting the worse. Instead he was left staring after Dr. Cox as he strode away.

"Don't kill anyone Newbie."

And now it was just him. Him and a dozen very ill people. _Oh dear God..._

_OK, that wasn't too bad._ JD was again at the Nurse's Station, this time chugging a cup of coffee. He had been fine for the first six hours, then the tiredness hit him again. Apparently, he was needy and five hours just wasn't good enough anymore. Jeez, when he was an intern he was able to go six- even seven- shifts and still make it home. OK, sure he was on his sixth now, but still. He slept for five hours, was that not good enough anymore? So yeah, he was hitting the coffee a bit harder then normal, but it was needed. There was one patient in particular, Mrs. Cairston, who caused this. She had been crashing or seizing or both constantly and had only been stable for that last hour or so. Not that it would help. A year ago, JD had diagnosed Mrs. Cairston with Melanoma and despite any surgery it had persisted and reached her spinal chord and then it finally moved to her brain. Now she wouldn't last more than a few more hours.

JD didn't know if it was fortunate or unfortunate when her family arrived. He was glad, of course, that she'd have someone other than a doctor at her side. He was a good doctor when it came to terminal patients, he could connect or "get way too involved" as he was often told. But still, telling family members that there was nothing anyone could do, that never became anything less than suicidally depressing.

From where he was standing, JD could see the family- a brother, husband, and daughter- standing around Mrs. Cairston's bed, whispering to each other. There were stats he should be checking, but they deserved some time alone, and really, he didn't want to go in there. She wasn't the nicest person he'd treated but there was something about her. Maybe the way she dealt with her ailment, maybe the way she dealt with _him_. Whatever it was, JD had come to really respect her more and more with each of her stays in the hospital.

"Hiya there, Newbie."

Hot coffee and surprises were just not to be mixed with JD. He was now holding his burning arm to his chest. "OK, ow. And hi, morning, afternoon, evening, Dr. Cox."

Dr. Cox raised an eyebrow to JD's surprise. "Busy thinking about the prom or something? Shouldn't let yourself get so distracted."

JD thought about rolling his eyes, but the coffee burn was still fresh in his mind and annoying an emotional doctor who leaned toward angry way to often really only aided the possibility of future burns. "Yeah, I guess. Aren't you supposed to be home sleeping or something?"

"Meh, no point being there at the moment." Dr. Cox grabbed Mrs. Cairston's chart and gave it a thorough once-over. "So, guess this is it it, huh? Pretty good estimation there on her time."

"Yeah,...joy for me."

"Well aren't you in a mood. Anyway, time to check out, your shift is done."

JD checked the wall clock again. Indeed his shift had ended half and hour ago. About time but still. "I'm going to stay. For Cairston." he didn't have to look to know that Dr. Cox had rubbed his nose, folder his arms, and was currently giving him his 'you're-_really_-going- to-do-this-again-Newbie' look. There would be a rant.

"Oh golly, Martha," yep there it was, "Did you really go and get attached again? I must have warned you about this five dozen time but no, you didn't listen. Not that I'm surprised, if it's not about you latest style choices -not very good lately, yes I said it, but caffeine and hospital showers really do not suit you, missy- you _wouldn't_ listen! And for christ-sake, this one isn't even nice and cuddly like your normal go-to's."

JD waited for a moment, but the older doctor only stared him down. "Yeah, you're probably right. But I'm still staying."

"You realize you've been here for almost three days, don't 'cha? Like, willingly here?"

"I promised Carla and Turk some space and, anyways, she _may_ have hinted that she wanted the house to herself last night...and day." when the other doctor just nodded in minimal acknowledgment, JD figured he was dismissed so, checking that his pager was on properly, he started towards the break room. He'd come back to check Mrs. Cairston's stats in a bit, once her family had a chance to speak privately with her.

**†** **†** **†** **†**

There was something bothering Perry that he couldn't quite place. He'd been trying all morning to pin it down but it just whisked itself away whenever he thought about it. But he was here early because of it. Sure, what he's told Newbie was part of it; with Jordan gone, his apartment wasn't good for much other then drinking and dreaming. More often than not, the drinking following the dreaming.

It had been awhile since he had dreams of this sort or...intensity, if that was the right word for them- Realism was another good word for them. It had been years though, years, since he'd had this issue. Forty-something year olds were not supposed to be dealing with this, not when they had an ex-wifey and a kid at home.

And no matter what, men certainly hadn't been involved for at least a full decade and a half, when he was still an ignorant intern learning the ropes of medicine while simultaneously clubbing every night and have crazy, wild flings on the side.

The point was, he should be over this. He was over this. Wasn't he?

It didn't help that when he left his apartment to escape his thought he ran right into John Dorian. How the hell was that kid still standing? Why was he _still_ here? And why the hell did he look like someone was about to throw his puppy off a bridge?

Following Newbie's sad gaze into the patient's room told him half of it, the chart told him the rest. The kid had gotten attached, again. It was what made him a good doctor most of the time- the caring and getting involved. But sometime Perry couldn't help but wonder if the price was worth it. Ever patient that didn't leave here had the potential of taking a small piece of JD with them. Eventually all the small pieces would add up and nothing would be left.

So, sure, he'd gone off a bit, ranted a bit, made Newbie feel bad a bit. But Perry couldn't help but notice that he felt a bit bad by the end of it too, and that was not supposed to happen.

**†** **†** **†** **†**

End Chapter One

**†** **†** **†** **†**

Last will: Thanks for reading, I'll get to work on the next part of this little mess. Sorry for any typo's, grammar errors, or format mishaps. I'm not a very good Beta for myself. Again R&R so I know someone cares...


	2. Chapter 2

Subject: Scrubs, JD/Perry

Disclaimer: I do not own the Scrubs franchise. This is a fan-made story of no value or profit.

Summery: There are many ways for someone to deal with a new turn in their life. Avoiding it isn't one, and neither is putting it off. One way or another though, Dr. Cox will have to face the music brought on by dreams that he probably shouldn't be having anyways...right?

A/N: This chapter is probably riddled with typos and fragmented to all fuck, but I'm kinda wasted and stressed and tired, so I'll try to fix it in the morning if I can...I'll try (I have now done so: 8/30/11). Anyways, yeah, chapter two. There will be one more and that's that. Next will be the development and raunchy sex. I'll probably be drunk for that too (seems I need an inhibition removal to write anything decent). I hope this chapter comes out to standards- no matter how low, really, I'm not picky at all. Also, everyone who reviewed, i could hug you. Your review made my days and gave me will to choke down that last shot. No, really though, in all seriousness, they helped a ton and I can't thank you enough. I really, honestly hope that this chapter enough to uphold your praise.

_† † † †_

_This couch is comfortable, _JD noticed. And that was the truth. In fact, the old, beat up couch was probably the most suitable piece of furniture to nap on. That was a bit strange actually, seeing as how it was probably from a back-ally or dumpster. Oh well, no matter the details it was still cushy as hell and had a great hammock affect. People really underestimate broken-in furniture.

The comfort, unfortunately, made it no surprise that Dr Cox had demanded that JD take the floor instead. Demanding being more of pushing him off while he slept. But again, details weren't important.

They had been sitting in their Cox-designated seating areas for some time before the older doctor finally spoke. "So, I heard that your patient's family final decided to put in the paperwork."

"Yeah...no resuscitation from this point on. You know, it's weird. I think I've spent as much time saving people as I have waiting for people to die."

"That's the way of it, Newbie. You'll be OK."

JD turned his head to look at his mentor. Was he actually being supportive? Dr. Cox was stomach down on the couch, head buried in the arm cushion, effectively cutting off anyway to see what he might be feeling. He was probably just tired. _Think I'll just stick with supportive._ It was either that or a trick...and support was just the better option.

It didn't take long for his beeper to go off. But he didn't have to rush despite the insistent sounding '_beep_'. There was no crash cart waiting for him, no nurses waiting for orders, no panicking interns trying to dissolve into the ether. No, any of that would probably lose him his license. The "dark-side of medicine" as he'd come to call it. After the last three years JD had finally figured out that to properly be a healer now-a-days you sometimes just had to zip it and forfeit a battle or two. Sometimes three if it was a really bad day- but rarely was a Doctor willing to give up on three lives and certainly not JD.

So he waited for a little while before getting up from the linoleum floor and heading for the now late Mrs. Cairston's room. _Late to the late...oh jeez, I must be tired._

"Good luck." JD heard on his way out. Or thought he heard, it could of easily been his mind wishing himself luck. Just to be safe though, he quietly gave a thank you to the air. Only someone looking for it would hear, and if not, well it never hurt to say thanks.

† † † †

It was a simple thing to sneak up on JD. The trick was to wait for him to gaze off because once he did, oh, there was this wonderful 2-7 minute window of uninteruptable opportunity. With such availability, it was hard not to take advantage of it. All it took one one well applied poke and...

"Ow!" he was promptly dragged out of his fantasy by the force of what he could only assume equaled that of a three car pile-up applied directly to a vulnerable rib. All from a single finger. "Seriously, Elliot, do you lift weights with those? Because I'm nearly certain you could enter an Iron Man competition with those things and win."

"Awe, thanks JD." She cooed and shoved him lightly. "_So_, I heard you're nearly done for today."

_Finally_, he thought happily. "Yep, just a few more things I am so out of here."

Elliot's smile brightened, "Well, how about we get some drinks? We haven't gotten together in a while and I...maybe-also-kinda heard that you had a rough several days on call." She winced slightly, not forgetting that it was covering her shift that had started his 'rough several days'.

JD raised a questioning eyebrow, "Carla?"

"Yeah, Carla. Don't be mad at her?"

"Why would I be? You know how she worries." they both nodded in a moment of complete agreement. "Anyhow, yeah, drinks. Actually, that sounds really good."

"Great! I'll drive and meet you in the lobby in...let's say one hour. Good?"

"Good." And it was. Sleep was great and all, but getting out would be nice and was almost certain to get his mind off of work. Which was great seeing as his beeper had just gone off yet again.

† † † †

"What kind of person comes into a hospital and then refuses medication? Its- It's just ridiculous!" One Nectarini (heavy on the tini to celebrate not being on call) and two beers in and JD was just thrilled to let Elliot know about his day(s). It was his turn anyways; they'd decided that one drinks worth of ranting per person was a fair deal.

"That's OK," she sympathized as JD worked though his second beer, "I had this woman who must have walked out with half the hospital medication stock. Still don't know how she did that or _what_ she could do with the stuff, I mean most of it was just laxatives and blood-thinners...anyways the point is, well there is not point. More drinks over here!"

JD took the time too finally get a good look around. They weren't at the normal hangout in an attempt to avoid any hospital staff. Tonight was work-free in every way if they could at all help it.

This place was bigger, newer, and themed to fit the younger crowds. More nauseating strobe and pounding beat with a constant, withering mass of dancers. Well, it was certainly different, and, like Turk had pointed out to him in a difficult time, different wasn't _always_ bad. Even if it might be a close call...

"Still your turn, silly." Elliot shook his drink proving that it was indeed not empty.

"Sorry. Let's see, oh, right! You know how Dr. Cox spent most of the last days going between ignoring me completely and yelling at me? Well, then he goes and covers for me so I can _sleep_ of all things. I mean, he did get around to yelling at me again, so I guess not all out of the norm. But still..."

"You're honestly bothered that you got _sleep_?"

"No, I'm just wondering if maybe he was planning on murdering me when I was asleep but backed out at the last minute." He thought quietly before adding, "Maybe that's why he yelled at me after. But..no, then he was nice again. Maybe he felt bad about something?"

"Ya know," Elliot grabbed the new drink that had been placed before them, "I would not doubt it. I mean, he's mean. He enjoys others pain and misery. He angry. It could totally add up to murder. But then, he's a Doctor so murder is kinda not his forte. No wonder the nurses like gossip so much. You guys are like a walking soap."

JD scoffed, "Just the nurses is it? Yeah, as if," He knew Elliot was right there with the best of the hospital gossip mongers. Hell, the way she picked it up there was probably some special training or something...maybe the janitorial staff taught the investigation and torture class... "Were you trained to be a gossip? Cause it seems like a good business opportunity for some."

"...Right, hey look, new drinks!" she grabbed the delivered beers. "My turn now."

† † † †

"Dr. Cox? Dr. Cox, wake up, already"

_It's either morning or whoever this cruel bastard is has a spotlight._ It was morning, a fact the Perry found unusually annoying now that there was a silhouette in it. "I'm up, stop shaking me already." He was still on the lounge room's couch and, as comfortable as it was, it was not made for long term sleeping. There was the on-call room, but Bob insisted that since Perry wasn't technically 'on-call' that night, he could crash on the couch or leave.

The option was more then he'd expected so the couch it was.

"Carla," he sat up slowly, stretching and taking stock of all his limbs. "You're here early."

"Good thing too or someone else might of caught you here...sleeping..." her flushed face said other things though.

"Damn..." He laid back down, more than happy to bury his face in the musty cushion.

"So?"

"What 'so'?"

Perry could feel Carla settle herself on the arm of the couch. "So, what's _this_ about?"

He kept quiet, listening till Carla huffed in annoyance. "Go away."

"No," she made herself more comfortable on the couch arm. "You already know I _have_ to be here, seriously, I'll get withdraw if I'm not working on your issues." It was sad and true. He's seen her without her fix of fixing before, it was never pretty. "And I already know most of it, so you may as well-"

"You're not going to shut-up are you?" he growled.

"Don't take that tone with me." She scolded back. "But fine then, lets talk about something else..."

"Like what exactly? You're only interested in gossip."

"True, and you have plenty. How's Jack."

"Wouldn't know."

"OK, how's Jordan."

"Don't care."

"Just because she left doesn't mean you get to stop trying. You know, someone reasonable enough to give you the chance-"

At this, Perry flipped over, glaring away at Carla. "You said you spoke with her, what, exactly, did she say?"

"Umm, well, she said that she was didn't like that you weren't committed to your relationship and maybe leaving will straighten you out...yeah, that's about it."

"So nothing about a Prussian towel-boy she met on vacation? Nothing about not telling me that he would be over two weeks ago? No?" Carla stared. "Didn't think so. I'll be leaving now." Perry pushed himself up and rushed out of the room. Carla would probably have a fit and chase him down later, but in all honesty, screw it. He could deal with that later, now he just wanted to wash up and have something remotely resembling coffee. He couldn't help but think back to what Carla had said. _Figures Jordan wouldn't say anything..._But there it was. She hadn't told. Anyone, not even him. Something they had always clung too was that Jordan always told. Always. But not this time...not this time. So, Perry did the only sensible thing: told her to leave. Pack and leave, that was it. He'd see Jack on weekends but nothing more. In the end it was simple: their relationship was hinged on brutal honesty. If the honesty wasn't there, neither was the relationship. So, she left, off to a friends or a relatives; he didn't really care. Of course, it was also pretty much that same night that the dreams had started. Not too far from normal at first: the hospital, a constantly present Newbie, the constant need too do something (hit him was Perry's first thought). Then, it was more. On-call rooms, showers, supply closets, Perry's apartment, a park. Brushes, hugs, touches, eyes, hair, skin, heat.

He shook his head to clear the memories. That was _not_ something he needed to be remembering right now. Defiantly not...

Soon, any hopes for actual coffee in this hellhole were long vanished by the reality of caffeinated shit-water commonly handed out in these halls. It did create that great game of watching interns force themselves to choke it down though- seeing as it was caffeine and with their shifts there was hardly a choice. Weaker interns had actually been broken by a crappy cup of coffee placed considerately on top of what was already a crap job experience and sleep deprivation.

Good fun for the Attendings though.

He tossed his empty paper cup into a nearby bin and headed for the restroom, not that he got far when a muffled groan caught Perry's attention. With the on-call room as its origin, he was surprised not to find someone having sex (if they were lucky there might even be someone with them). Though, it was 6:30 in the morning, so maybe it was a bit early for people to be taking a roll in the hay.

Instead it was coming from an unconscious person- which wasn't as surprising as it should have been...especially once he was that it was Newbie. On one of the bunks he noticed Barbie in a similar state. How they got in here, who knew. But their clothing and the still sharp smell of alcohol told where they'd come from. Perry checked the blond, she was still out cold, burrowed into one of the thin sheets.

JD was curled up on the floor near the door- Perry noted, defiantly not in bed with Elliot. Not that he cared, it was just logistics of course. It didn't mean anything.

When JD groaned again and covered his face to hide it from the violent hall light, Perry was quick to close the door. "How many girl drinks did it take to do this..." he seen firsthand what a lightweight the kid could be if slipped any real alcohol. Not that it mattered, but still, he couldn't help but feel at least some sympathy toward the resident. It wasn't that long ago that Perry had spent many night getting himself into a similar state, and while he got better at it, waking up never grew part anything less then hellish. He knelt down and brushed away the dark hair that had fallen into JD's face. It was soft, but that was obvious to anyone really. Even with products it was soft. Perry had felt it before, but ignored it then. Now it tore into his subconscious, lodging itself in the future-reference area.

When the door swung open -JD was quick to try and roll out of the light though he wasn't near awake enough to pull it off- Perry was expecting some sorry Intern or an anger Carla or her Newbie-protective husband to be there. They would see laugh or glare depending on what they thought he was doing, kneeling next to JD, hand on his head. What he was not expecting Robert Kelso standing there in what seemed to be Christmas themes night pants. Perry cleared his throat and moved his hand. "Bobbo, if you don't mind, your horrifyingly dressed self is scaring the unconscious children."

"Har, har." Kelso made to pull up his pants but the refused to rise any further. His eyes flashed over Perry. _Did he notice? _"Enid chased me out before I could get changed properly. However, it is quite comfortable, so get used to seeing this." Perry would of cringed at the notion but he was busy trying to read Bob's expression. _Crap, he must have seen.._. "Right then," Bob continues with a coarse throat clearing. "As of now you are late for your shift my three minutes. Exactly. I was going to give you this weekend on call, but I figure it would be best if you just watched the kids here. Hopefully neither has died since I last put them here, the last thing we need is a lawsuit." he left, taking a moment to pop his head back into the room, "Oh, and you'll be on call this weekend."

"You wouldn't be you if I wasn't." he quickly snapped back. _Did he..._

"Thought you'd appreciate that."

Perry didn't but Bob had effectively vanished (a feat for an overweight devil in Christmas pants). "Great. He saw." All he needed was for the Chief of Medicine to think we had molesting an unconscious, male resident. "Just wonderful."

But now JD was moving again, though it was doubtful that he knew what was going on. There was one fast way to fix that though; something well tried and well tested by Perry himself, and he was certain it would not only work, but probably cheer him up in the process. No way was it worth an extra shift, but it would shorten his babysitting sentence. So, tossing JD over his shoulder, (he was not thinking about the warm body against his) Perry strided into the attached shower and locker room, turn a faucet on till it was a frigid blast, and unceremonious deposited his brunette baggage into the stream.

It was all the yelping, cursing, and sad-eyed shivering Perry could hope for. And suddenly, it was also all the dripping water, the wet clothing, the messed hair that Perry had not anticipated.

† † † †

A cold dunking was not only completely unwelcome, but it could possibly be called for. JD jumped into the shower wall, slip into another, and finally slumped back to the floor. He took a gasping breath. Crap it was cold! His pounding head and spinning world didn't evne begin to compare. Not even close.

"Good, your awake."

He didn't recognize the voice right away, it was low and coarse. Blinking rapidy to fend off the icy water drops, JD looked up )it was a challenge seeing as how the wor;d was trying very hard to replicate a Gravitron*). "Dr. Cox?" JD didn't know why he asked, his mouth wasn't following orders very well. He could clearly see that it was Perry. He knew that asking would only annoy him. But maybe...something was off, maybe that was why. It was Dr. Cox. The wide shoulders, tough stance, curly hair. It was him. But something else was off. It took him a moment to notice what. "Something's wrong with yur eye's..." he slurred, much to his own annoyance. "Crap, I said that...wait I said that...Damn..." JD closed his mouth forcibly.

But now he could see it. Perry was there, sanding ridged as ever. His eyes though, were fixated on him, brushing over his cloths, his hair, his skin. He shivered under it. What if it wasn't just his eyes day...it could be his hands...

"Scrubs. You should...get changed. Now."

A pair of regulated blue scrubs were tossed outside the shower and Perry spun around, rushing for the exit.

"Wait..could you, ummm, kinda stud-suck! Kinda stuck...shit. I should stop slurring...talking."

Perry stopped and waited. "Been saying that for years, Newbie." But he stayed. After all, of JD wandered out of here half naked because he got stuck in his shirt, well, anything could happen. Perry wasn't blind. He knew about the touches and feels that people grabbed when the kids was wearing the horridly appealing scrubs. Who knew what would happen if he went out half naked. All wet and dripping... "Fine, I'll help. But you owe me."

The only defense Perry had was to close his eyes. It was a crappy defense. With his eyes shut tight, his body pushed the other senses to work overtime. He pulled up JD's shirt, the wet fabric clinging to his smooth skin. He could smell some sort of lotion escaping though the moisture. It couldn't be placed, not by him at least, but it smelled like woods after rain. Earthy and floral and deep. His hands may have lingered here and there, maybe. It was possible, but he couldn't recall. The cloth and water and skin blurred together in a mix of smell and touch and sound. There was no way JD didn't notice, he couldn't possibly...but he didn't seem to be reacting either. Though his inhibited, cold shocked system could easily be to blame. _Or he's just not like that, _Perry's brain was in overdrive. Heated to capacity with memorizing feels and scents, he couldn't think of anything else. No that he wanted to at the moment. When else would he get to add detailed to his memory without JD noticing? It was doubtful he would eve catch the kid this wasted again. And under normal circumstances this would never happen, of course. This was abnormal, that's the only reason.

While he was thinking and roaming, JD tossed his shirt to the side and kicked off his shoes. He was half way removing his jeans when Perry pulled him from the shower. It was obvious that JD had dressed to please...somebody. Unfortunately, eye-candy cloths, especially jeans, did not make for good shower wear. They stuck to his skin, mostly refusing the lower or give even and inch.

Perry cursed, "You've got to be joking."

"I wasn't...wasn't talking." JD gave up on the pants, opting to lean against the wall instead. The wall, however, was not were he remembered it was. The damned thing must have moved just to spite him! It was dumb luck that his fall was cushioned. Bad luck that it was cushioned by Perry. "Hi... I would move...but thing, they're spinny again."

"I'm sure." Perry was pinned against the tile and JD. While not what he expected, it wasn't horrible. There was a plan, at some point. There had been one, right? There must have been...Yes, help the kid change into dry cloths. Give him a towel for his hair. Put him back into the on-call bunk to sleep this off. It was not, try to dress JD, get turned on my the wet, hot skin and clingy cloths, and dripping hair, then end up pinned under said person! Oh, if only Jordan could see him now. Not that it was helping- it only brought images of her under some random guy she met. What was disturbing was that the image didn't matter, didn't have effect, not with someone draped over him. Not with the heat and cold and tile and cloth. Not with the skin and teeth and tongue. Not that it mattered. No, it didn't, He was not desperately pressing against what had to be the most annoying person in the world. Not with that person completely wasted and not knowing a thing.

Defiantly not.

But here he was, pressing a new resident again him, cold tile under them, cold water above them, trying to explore his mouth like it was the last unknown place in the world. Like nothing mattered. Like it was exactly what he wanted.

† † † †

End Chapter

† † † †

P/A/N: As I was editing this morning, I defiantly noticed a difference between my normal and drunk writing. Drinking helped (don't drink unless you're of age though and never excessively). I think the last half is fairly good, a bit scattered at time, but overall.

Anywho, thank you for reading, I hope it wasn't too awful! I hope it was enough to warrant a review (wink wink. No? Fine...). Next chapter should be up in a week or so. Mostly drama followed by smut, as usual. I'm doing my best to bring in people like Elliot and Turk to add realistic balance. Carla doesn't know all and I realize that she can be overused, but her firendship mixed with her gossip-hobby makes her ideal for a mediator of romance. However, Elliot will have a part. And, in case you didn't notice at all, I am mixing up the original plot. For the most part this is in season 4, though some facts will be changed for my brain's convenience. Everyone have a great night morning or day!

(*The Gravitron is a ride that spins in circles and uses gravity to pin you against a wall...it's actually kinda kinky now that I think back to it...)


End file.
